On Up for The Shorty Awards

Cyberspace -- Georganna Hancock (GLHancock on Twitter) was nominated for a Shorty Award. It was inevitable, presenting: The Shorty Awards - The best producers of real-time, short form content on Twitter.  In this award-mad medium, the next level of this online booster fest had to be Best Tweets.  And again, as with the blogging contests, there is no category for writing about writing, or tweeting for writers. Or on writing.

However, that didn't stop Out of Order Alice writer, the irreverent Marisa Birns, from nominating yours truly in the Official Category of Humor.  I'm so sure I can beat out Marlon Wayans!

Listen to this article

10th Annual Bloggies

Hard to believe that the Bloggies are ten years old. Nominations are open in quite a few categories, and you can nominate the same blog in different categories. Nominations continue until Tuesday, January 12--so, hop to it. Voting will take place Jan. 21-31. The Weblog Awards ceremony will be held at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas, USA at the Trade Show Day Stage. Note that the nominations page scrolls horizontally to show all the categories and entry forms.

The other weblog awards contest in which A Writer's Edge was so kindly nominated is defunct. Apparently the planner failed. That's okay, the Bloggies have more and better categories that fit this blog!

Listen to this article

Social Media Marketing Contest

Awe+Some=Blog-Off2 Prizes offered by The Community Marketing Blog. One prize I see: following the entries to learn from the best and worst of them.

Andrew Ballenthin says: "This is your chance to really shine (or shine some more) and show how excellent you are as a marketing and/or social media expert in practicing the skills you apply every day for your clients or your company or yourself."

Simply competing will grow your writing and blogging skills!

Listen to this article

Weblog Awards Nominations

Remember these things? They finally got going.

Nominations Nov. 3, 2009 - Nov. 20, 2009
Finalists Announced December 28, 2009
Voting January 4, 2010 - January 11, 2009

A Writer's Edge is already nominated in the Best Humor Blog and Best Twitterer (I did it myself), and My Dear Paige von Liber added it to the Best Literature Blog category. This is a high honor from a woman who just said about herself:

I will just keep on being me ~ the one ~ the most awesome Paige that you know. Yes the Queen of my Paradise Valley. Remember that echo when I’m falling over the edge and laugh, laugh, laugh.

I'm thinking that I should nominate her blog for Best Humor! [Done!]

Please note that voting does not begin until next year. If you want, though, you can sift through the lists of nominations and click on the green button to second, third, etc.--not that it counts, as I understand.

Listen to this article

Nominations Not Yet

Ready to go nominate your favorite blogs for this year's awards? Wait! There's another delay. You can string people along only so far, and then they tend to lose interest, huh?

Hint to Kevin: Start programming earlier in the year.

Listen to this article

Weblog Awards

Weblog Awards nominations begin tomorrow Nov.2. The schedule:

Nominations Nov. 2, 2009 - Nov. 20, 2009*
Finalists Announced December 28, 2009
Voting January 4, 2010 - January 11, 2009

Once again, no category for writing or writer blogs. Sigh! Far be it from me to say so, but ... the only place A Writer's Edge appears to fit would be Best Literature Blog or moi as Best Individual Blogger (I think not). Oh, I suppose Best Liberal Blog would fit, too, but this isn't a political bash. AWE finished in the final 19 in another competition, but not in the top ten. Not yet.

*Note: schedule slippage reported

Listen to this article

Best Magazine Cover

Amazon customers have a unique opportunity to pick their favorite magazine cover of the year! Who do you think had the hottest look this season? Customers can vote for their favorite magazine cover from ten categories, and also choose the best cover out of the top finalists. Customers who vote for their most memorable cover will have the chance to win a $10,000 Amazon.com gift card!

This year, the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) has selected six finalists in each of the ten categories, including Best Obama Cover, Sexiest Cover and Most Delicious Cover, among others, with the final winners to be announced on October 14 at the Magazine Innovation Summit in New York City.

Listen to this article

Another Writer Blog Contest

Contests for writers' blogs run rampant across the 'net. Now Maria Schneider has decided to hold one. Nominations due by September 1 at: Editor Unleashed (http://editorunleashed.com/2009/08/11/nominate-your-favorite-writing-blogs/#respond). Rules read:

Please include the following with your nomination:

• The blog hyperlink (writers-edge.info/Blog.html)
• Why it should be included
• Category

The five categories are:

Fiction Writing
Freelance Writing
Creativity
Marketing & Social Media
Publishing Trends

When Maria chose A Writer's Edge for her Project 20/20 (populating her blogroll) she said:

Georganna is perhaps even more obsessive/compulsive than I am in keeping up on publishing industry trends and news, and she shares freely, along with her own writing tips for success.

I guess that would put this blog in the running for the Publishing Trends category, but I like to think it covers all bases, so feel free to choose any of them.

Now, I'm going to pop over and ensure that Lori Widmer's Words on the Page, and Paula Berinstein's The Writing Show get nominated... Later: I did, but the comment did not show up. I hope it is being held for ransom review.

Listen to this article

Week of Contest Nominations

What a week this has been for A Writer's Edge! First, nominated to the 4th Annual Top 10 Blogs for Writers Contest -- more noms (votes) needed. Don't forget to include the URL: http://www.writers-edge.info/Blog.html and a reason--thanksabunch!

Now comes a message from Michelle at The BBAW Awards Committee of the Book Blogger Appreciation Week competition:

Dear Writer's Edge,

I am so thrilled to inform you that you have been nominated for a Book Blogger Appreciation Week Award in the category Best General Review Blog.

This year it takes place September 14-18. If you haven't heard about this contest, that may be because it is fairly new. The site explains:

Book Blogger Appreciation was started by Amy Riley of My Friend Amy in an effort to recognize the hard work and contribution of book bloggers to the promotion and preservation of a literate culture actively engaged in discussing books, authors, and a lifestyle of reading.

The first Book Blogger Appreciation was observed in the fall of 2008 and occurs every September. The week spotlights and celebrates the work of active book bloggers through guest posts, awards, giveaways, and community activities. Book Bloggers are encouraged to register their participation for inclusion in a database of book bloggers.

If anyone practices promotion and preservation of a literate culture actively engaged in discussing books, authors, and a lifestyle of reading that would be me with this blog, reviewing books, and wrangling the Tierrasanta Book Club in real life. Next step: hook it all up with a literacy program encouraging book reading by upcoming generations.

Listen to this article

Top 10 Blogs for Writers Contest

Michael Stelzner has opened nominations for his 4th annual Top 10 Blogs for Writers Contest over at his Writing White Papers blog. When I just looked to see how many people had commented (191), my eye caught on this one from a "Paula B":

Eeek, how can I choose between Michelle Rafter and Georganna Hancock? Okay, this year I'll nominate Georganna's A Writer's Edge at http://www.writers-edge.info/Blog.html. Next year it will be Michelle.

I never get tired of reading Georganna. She always seems to come up with new angles on issues of interest to writers, and she's a hoot besides. Full of personality, but not that awful snarkiness you find so often these days. A truly original thinker.

*screams like a girl* TY, Paula. I know who you are! I've been waiting four years just to be nominated! Now I must run over to see Michelle's obviously excellent production.

Nominating is apparently the same as voting. Stelzner's instructions:

How to Nominate Your Favorite Writing Blog:

1. Reply to this message with your nomination (bottom of list)
2. You have only one vote (only your first will be counted)
3. Please include the web address of the blog (http://www.writers-edge.info/Blog.html)
   
4. Explain why you think the blog is worthy of winning this year’s award?

To make the cut, a blog must be nominated more than once.

Nominations must be received by September 11, 2009.

Listen to this article

Hint Fiction

Have you heard of it? Hint fiction. Shorter than a short (story). Less than a flash. "A story of 25 words or less that suggests a larger, more complex story" is Robert Swartswood's definition of Hint Fiction. Yes, he's at it again. Another contest, but this time with more than a hint of getting published and being paid:

Tentatively scheduled for the fall of 2010, W.W. Norton will publish an anthology of Hint Fiction.... The thesis of the anthology is to prove that a story 25 words or less can have as much impact as a story 2,500 words or longer. The anthology will include between 100 and 150 stories. We want your best work.

See the previous finalists and winners' stories, but don't ape them. Email entries are accepted through midnight August 31 and requested in a particular format, but no fee is charged to enter. People have pulled up their shorts, and Swartswood says the entries are pouring in.

I pored over my three, thinking I might have a feel for this now that I've been communicating in 140-character chunks for a few weeks. When I finished, I noticed that for the first time in my life of creative writing, I didn't start with a title, and titles are required. It feels like working backwards.

Listen to this article

2666

"Remember that book, '2666' that I was all excited about and showed you the reviews of, and I read the precursor, sort of, and couldn't stand it?" I asked my friend Betsy who is one of the few people who keeps up with my stream of consciousness conversation style. "It finally came from the library and I started it, and it's just about the same and, oh, it's 895 pages!"

"And now you're sorry you started it?" she asked.

Even sorrier yesterday when I learned from the NY Times (at Starbucks, of course) that the author, Roberto Bolaño, won the National Book Critics Circle award for fiction. Posthumously. Now I feel I must read it.

Listen to this article

Vote for A Writer's Edge

Isn't this just the cutest little thing?

You can actually read the words if you visit the page. Many thanks to the fabulous Lori Widmer (who I do not even know) of Words on the Page (from which I'm learning lots) for nominating A Writer's Edge for a Blogger's Choice Award. She selected the category of Business Blogs, thereby saving me the embarrassment of nominating my own blog as Best Blog Evar!

Listen to this article

Best Blogs Awards Again

Best Blogs is once again hosting the fabulous Blogger's Choice Awards in a variety of categories, none of which A Writer's Edge fits into, unless you count "Best Blog Design" or "Best Blog of All Time" (I doubt).

They greet us with:

Welcome to the Blogger's Choice Awards, the most popular user-generated blog voting site on the planet! We are now accepting nominations for the 2009 competition. Sign up and vote for your favorite (and least favorite) blogs to help determine the winners for next year.

Take a look and tell me what you think. Last year's winners are available. It's a long scroll. And if you feel so inclined as to nominate A Writer's Edge, please let me know that you did and in which category. Send that info to writers.edge[AT]gmail.com and you will win a bribe prize!

Listen to this article

Answers from Agualusa

"Finally!" some people are saying. "Last summer she promised us an interview with international author José Eduardo Agualusa, held a contest for the best question, and what? Nothing for months!"

The delay produced a sad and ironic twist, especially for the contest winner, Sonya Chrisman. Her entry, "If you could be any character in your book, which would it be, and likewise, which would you not want to be?" won her a copy of Agualusa's THE BOOK OF CHAMELEONS. She was also interested in the memory aspects of the book. Upon winning, Sonya wrote:

A memory is very precious to people. They are not only something very personal, they're free. Then, when we begin to lose our memories due to illness or old age, it's a tragedy. In Mr. Agualusa's book, memories are more than just precious. They are a precious commodity. If his world were a reality, which end of the spectrum would he rather be on character wise, the one that sells the memories or the one who receives them?

Then in October, Sonya and her husband, Michael, were injured in a motorcycle accident. These weren't crazy kids, either, just a sedate middle-aged (I think) couple out enjoying a ride in the Midwest autumn when suddenly their lives were changed forever. Sonya wrote recently:

...my comment...was foreboding of what was to come in my life...Michael sustained a severe traumatic brain injury. His memories are blurred, and yes, some have been lost. His short-term memory is shot. Memories are precious and to lose them is tragic. My own words have a deeper meaning.

It is with a heavy heart for Sonya, Michael, and their family and many friends, that I dedicate the interview with Agualusa and my review of his fascinating book (with some of the interview information more artfully arranged, I hope).

Other posts and pages in this saga:

Writing Mini-Reviews
Contest to win a Book
Questioning Jose Agualusa
Book Reviews
Author Interviews

Listen to this article

Contest to win a Book

Would you like to win a copy of THE BOOK OF CHAMELEONS by Jose Eduardo Agualusa? It is an enchanting novel exquisitely translated from the Portuguese by Daniel Hahn. Agualusa, an Angolan, is a master of telling stories within stories. He creates in the magical realism tradition of Latin American writers. I posted briefly about the book last month, and I continue to be haunted by the tale of identity.

Now I have an opportunity to interview the author, and I need some intelligent, pertinent, thoughtful questions to ask. Send me your best (one) to enter the contest by July 10. Email your question to CONTEST@WRITERS-EDGE.INFO. You can read about the book on Amazon by clicking on the book image at the beginning of this post and read an excerpt there, too.

Listen to this article

The Writing Show Contest

Less than a month remains for those planning to enter The Writing Show's third annual First Chapter of a Novel contest. The final deadline, June 20. Read all about it. According to Paula B., here's what they're looking for:

We want to find the world's best first chapter of an unpublished novel. Above all, you must tell a compelling story. That means that you have to grab us so quickly, so completely, that we can't stop reading, even if the house is burning down.

Your writing will be judged on the following five criteria:

1. Story. Is it a compelling read with a great hook? Are we engaged?
2. Style. Is the writing smooth and tight, without awkward constructions, extraneous verbiage, and redundancies?
3. Dialog. Is the dialog natural and does it move the story along?
4. Character. Are the characters interesting? Do we care about them?
5. Mechanics. Are grammar, spelling, and punctuation correct?

Those are also great tips for writing short stories well.

Listen to this article

Writing Contest That's Legit

For the third year, The Writing Show is holding a contest for first chapters of novels. See all the information about this year's version, prizes and rules as well as the results for 2006 and 2007. I was a judge during the launch year, and I know the website owner. This one is not a scam, and it has a low entry fee.

First Prize

* $1000
* An interview on The Writing Show
* Chapter posted on The Writing Show Web site

Second Prize

* $400
* Chapter posted on The Writing Show Web site.

Third Prize

* $300
* Chapter posted on The Writing Show Web site.

Fourth Prize

* $200
* Chapter posted on The Writing Show Web site.

Fifth Prize

* $100
* Chapter posted on The Writing Show Web site.

Plus, for 10 lucky winners, chosen at random

* 750 words of feedback

The early deadline is May 20, final deadline, June 20. Please read all the rules carefully, and if you have any questions still unanswered, only then do I recommend emailing them to "Paula at writingshow.com". Most often people ask, "If they post my chapter on their website, does that count as published?" and "Do they take the rights?" Ask Paula, but here's my take: of course you must grant the right for the entry to be published on the website. Technically that one chapter is published, but only if it is a contest winner (a plus in the eyes of an agent or traditional publisher). In the final count, whether or not it counts as "previously published" is determined by the purchaser of your manuscript.

Listen to this article

Superprize for Writing Novels

This year the bookish people who run the Man Booker prize will celebrate the award's 40th anniversary with a The Best of the Booker award to "honour the best overall novel to have won the prize since it was first awarded on 22 April 1969." The same type of award was given on the organization's 25th anniversary, but this time the public will be able to help choose from a shortlist of six chosen by a panel from the 41 contenders. The regular Booker prize is 50,000 pounds. The winner of the Best Booker only gets a trophy, I guess because the author already got the loot the first time around.

According to The Times online, bookies give authors these odds of winning:

• 4-1 Yann Martel – The Life of Pi (2002)

• 5-1 Salman Rushdie – Midnight's Children (1981)
  

• 7-1 Michael Ondaatje – The English Patient (1992)

• 8-1 Ben Okri – The Famished Road (1991); Arundhati Roy – The God of Small Things (1997); Ian McEwan – Amsterdam (1998)

• 10-1 J. M. Coetzee – Disgrace (1999); Anne Enright – The Gathering (2007)

If nothing else, this probably makes a good reading list for aspiring novelists.

Listen to this article

$100,000 for Poetry

The New York Times announced this morning that Brooklyn poet Tom Sleigh won the $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award for his seventh poetry collection Space Walk, published last year by Houghton Mifflin. Sleigh is a creative writing teacher at Hunter College. The award is administered by Claremont Graduate University in California. It was established in 1992 in honor of the poet Kingsley Tufts.

Listen to this article

Vote for AWE for WD 101

Please help us join Writer's Digest's "101 Best Sites for Writers". Vote by sending an email to writersdig@fwpubs.com with "www.writers-edge.info" in the body of the email. You could also add "A Writer's Edge" if you want, but that's not necessary. Make sure the subject line reads "101 Sites". The management thanks you deeply!

Listen to this article

P&E Readers Poll Results

I don't know whether to Woo! Hoo! or Boo! Hoo! A Writer's Edge tied for 14th place out of 18 writers' resource websites in this year's poll at Preditors & Editors (see Writer Resource Results for what I mean). I'm happy, because I didn't know about the competition until this year, and got off to a feeble, late start campaigning. Thank you, thank you all who voted for us! Next year, I hope I can remember that voting begins on the first of January. Then perhaps we, too, can win the coveted first place badge, which went to a website equally unknown to me: Latinidad, actually a newsletter distributed through a Yahoo! Group.

Listen to this article

Preditors & Editors Poll

The annual Preditors & Editors Readers Poll is happening until January 15th. You can write in a vote for A Writer's Edge by clicking on the link below:


An email to finalize your vote will be sent when you submit the form. Please add predpoll_noreply@critique.org to your approved senders list to receive the email. Because you may only vote once in each category, a subsequent vote in the same category will override your prior vote. A Writer's Edge qualifies as a "Writers' Resource/Information/News Source".

The management thanks you!

Listen to this article

AWE's a Winner!

Remember that funny list of nine words and one phrase I posted about last month? It was for a contest sponsored by Answers.com, the nice people who provide meanings for words underlined in red here. I didn't half try to throw the words listed into a coherent sentence (the contest called for 750 words or less), and yet I'm honored that they have mentioned A Writer's Edge. Answers.com has links to the rest of the winners who probably wrote much more understandable entries.

Listen to this article

Contest for Creative Writing

The lovely people who provide answers at Answers.com are having a "creative writing" contest in which you have to use all the words below in a piece of 750 words or less:

• a lick and a promise
• ataraxia
  
• contraband
  
• halva
• mantic
  
• praxis
  
• sapid
  
• semilunar
  
• serendipity
  
• zeitgeist

I thought I'd give it a lick and a promise, seeing as how my ataraxia has abated due to contraband semilunal sapid halva received from a mantic admirer whose serendipity fits the zeitgeist.

Hurry! The deadline is December 21, 2007.

Listen to this article

Blogs for Writers Contest Nears End

The end is coming! Only three days left to nominate A Writer's Edge as a Top Ten Blogs for Writers over at Michael Stelzner's Writing White Papers. Just hit the preceding link and leave a comment as Michael asks.

Here's the selection process:

1. Initial qualification: A site must have been nominated multiple times by multiple individuals (and be a blog). If someone nominated more than one blog, only the first nomination was counted.

2. Final winner selection:

* Quality of posts: A qualitative analysis of the content of posts will be examined. Educational and discussion-spurring posts are more valuable than self-promotional posts. (55% of decision)

* Frequency of posts: Blogs that write multiple posts per week will score higher. This is a sign of the blog’s commitment to blogging. (15%)

* Reader involvement: Blogs that have regular comments from readers are another sign of a healthy blog. In addition, the numbers of nominations for a specific blog play a part in this. (15%)

* Technorati.com Ranking: The number of other blogs that link to the blog shows the value of the content. (15%)

Listen to this article

Top Writer Blogs 2008 Contest Entries

It's time to begin campaigning for the popularity/beauty contests of the Blogdom. What? Before Thanksgiving? Why not--stores began their Christmas sales during Halloween! Presidential candidates for 2008 began much earlier this year. Thus in grand tradition, we solicit your support in the following pageants:

Michael Stelzner of Writing White Papers is gathering up his second annual batch of blogs to be designated Top 10 Blogs for Writers, so A Writer's Edge is Seeking Your Nomination. Only your first one counts, but feel free to chime in if you want to see A Writer's Edge on this list.

It's probably not too soon to start on Writer's Digest if you think A Writer's Edge is truly useful. To nominate it, send an email to Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites for 2008 . Just add this website's name, A Writer's Edge and URL (www.writers-edge.info) in the body of the message.

Listen to this article

Short Short Story Competition

Some think the short story form of fiction is more difficult to write than a novel. It certainly takes tighter writing to pack in the same elements needed for a book length production. Contests for novels abound, but markets and contests for shorts are limited. Here's an annual one that's legit and not too expensive to enter: WritersDigest.com Short Short Story Competition.

Listen to this article

Amazon's POD CreateSpace

As if one publish on demand service wasn't enough, last August Amazon.com began CreateSpace, which seems to be more for audio and video projects than the paperback book publishing they advertise. Apparently the only way to easily discover costs and benefits is to register and begin a project, although a FAQ exists specifically about books, and you might glean some insight from a pricing page. I love the example they use--a 100 B&W book priced at $25 "would earn a royalty of $14.85 per sale." Whee! Oh, wait--who would pay $25 for a 100-page trade paperback?

Currently free CreateSpace services are dangling before writers entering the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest:

the winning author will receive a publishing contract from Penguin Group, including promotional support for their book on Amazon.com, and a media suite from Hewlett-Packard. All entrants are eligible to self-publish their novel with CreateSpace and sell it on Amazon.com. Enter your manuscript for consideration by November 5, 2007!

An overview on the book service is available.

Listen to this article

Bulwer-Lytton 2007 Results

Every year a contest for the best worst opening lines (like: It was a dark and stormy night) yields great reading and lots of yucks. This year is no different. Watch for the annual Bulwer-Lytton 2007 Results from the San Jose State University. Most entries are submitted electronically through the contest website: http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/. There is also a collection of previous winners being published in August by The Friday Project. It will be available through Amazon.com.uk.

Listen to this article

Top Books

The USA Today folks have pulled together their list of 25 Books that leave a legacy. It's part of their 25th anniversary celebration with room for you to make an impact: a poll on which of their top five selections should be number one. What if you think another book--one that isn't Harry Potter, The Deep End of the Ocean, The Da Vinci Code, The 9/11 Commission Report (that's a book?), or Chicken Soup for the Soul--should be first? Well, then you can vote for "none of the above" but no write-ins allowed. No indication is given as to the criteria used by the USA Today editors and critics who chose the top 25. Frankly, some make me gag. The notion that The Da Vinci Code represents the best writing our country can offer is offensive, or that What to Expect When You're Expecting ranks in the same class with A Brief History of Time is ludicrous! Nonetheless, there they are. Take a look and vote for none of the above. Send them a message. Or send me a message if you disagree. Last time I looked The Bible was still the top best-seller.

Listen to this article

Dog Stories Wanted

Yes, I do seem to have dogs on the brain this week. Is it any wonder? Naturally I was susceptible to a pitch from David Leonhardt who wrote:

Hi Georganna. I was wondering if any of your readers might be interested in writing real-life stories about their dogs. If so, they might be interested in contributing to an anthology we are organizing, for $100 and a byline: http://www.seo-writer.com/books/dog-stories.html Cheers. David.

The submissions are for an anthology that Happy Guy Marketing is preparing, deadline is June 30, 2007. I suggest you read the guidelines carefully (including the fine print and any contract offered) and follow them exactly. Hint: to get an idea of the kind of story they want, visit the Amazon.com page referenced and use the "Inside the book" feature to read a sample story.

Listen to this article

Magazine Awards

Each year the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) gives out awards for the best productions of the previous year. They're called the "Ellies". As usual, many categories had many winners. For magazines, they are separated by size of circulation, although I don't see what that has to do with editorial excellence.

According mediabistro.com:

New York magazine, which was nominated for seven awards and took home five, including general excellence for magazines with circulations of 250,000 to 500,000, and interactive feature, a new category, for nymag.com ... The other general-excellence winners were National Geographic, Rolling Stone, Wired and Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Have you ever even seen a copy of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists? *shrugs* Anyway, you can find the entire list of winners in all categories and sizes with links to the magazines and particular winning features in many cases.

Listen to this article

Awards for Digital Writing

Earlier this year the Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) gave out its first awards for digital productions by industry members. You can see lists of winners (with links) in an MPA Press Release. What I'd really like to see is a list of all entries. It looks like everybody and his dog won a prize with categories including Web-Only Tool, Online Community, Mobile Strategy (?), Podcast, Video, Blog and five kinds of Websites. Digital Awards.

Listen to this article